WITH Italian racing still under pressure, and with few bright outlooks, the annual SGA Yearling Sale was again held under something of a cloud of uncertainty.

The vendors and buyers of the major lots are confined to a handful of individuals and families. The Botti family dominate when it comes to selling, their combined interests, offered under the banner of Razza Del Velino, accounting for about one-third of the 136 lots offered last Saturday. They also purchased many lots for different clients, though Bruno Grizzetti signed for the top lot in the name of Scuderia Cocktail.

This was Razza Del Velino’s Sea The Stars half-brother to two Group 3 winners, Excelebration’s son The Conqueror and Lope De Vega’s daughter Candy Store. Both of these have won 26 races in total, and are the best of four winning offspring of five-time winner and stakes-placed March Madness.

Scuderia Cocktail is the racing name for SGA president Gianpiero Soccini and also Pietro Barbarito. Soccini had earlier purchased the top filly of the sale, Allevamento Le.Gi.’s daughter of Almanzor, the first foal of the stakes-placed Epaulette mare Field Of Roses. The vendor Giovanni Parri was delighted with the sale and the identity of the new owner, and the filly will also be trained by Grizzetti.

Outstanding pedigree

The Almanzor filly was followed into the ring by a daughter of Charm Spirit with an outstanding pedigree. Sold by Franca Vittadini, this half-sister to Group 2 winner Call Me Love (Sea The Stars) and the stakes-winning filly Freetown (Speightstown) cost Stefano Pugliese €65,000. The filly’s Rainbow Quest dam is a daughter of the Group 1 Prix de la Foret winner Field Of Hope.

Valfredo Valiani paid €64,000 for Razza Del Velino’s Ribchester colt, a half-brother to 13-time winner, including at listed level, Clockwinder, while Simone Crecco’s €60,000 bid secured a son of Holy Roman Emperor, a full-brother to the 2019 Italian 1000 Guineas winner Fullness Of Life.

Longways Stables

Michael Murphy’s Longways Stables may have secured something of a bargain with its €50,000 purchase of Luciani Stefano’s Prince Of Mehmas, a son of the leading Tally-Ho stallion and out of a daughter of Barathea. The colt is the fourth produce of his dam and she is already responsible for the dual listed winner Its the Only Way.

BBA Ireland signed for one of the first lots on the day, Razza Del Velino’s Rock Of Gibraltar half-brother to seven winners, all his dam’s runners, including the stakes winner Freedom Beel.

A much improved clearance rate of 84% (from 67%) saw turnover rise 9% to €1,819,500, and the median increased by a similar percentage to €12,000. The average declined marginally, just 2%, to €18,757.